


Modern Day Mayhem

by TheShaddowedSnow



Series: Modern Day Series [1]
Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Abduction, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Bad Weather, Bleeding Effect, Desmond Miles Lives, Desmond's mom is named Nilea in this, Eagle Vision (Assassin's Creed), Ezio and Leo are only breifly shown as together in chapter one, F/M, How Do I Tag, I APOLOGIZE, I feel like this is deceptively cheery rn, I mean technically?, M/M, Moving In Together, Multi, So many OCs, There's A Tag For That
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-13
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2019-02-01 23:54:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12715455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheShaddowedSnow/pseuds/TheShaddowedSnow
Summary: Instead of Desmond dying, many assassins (and one turned assassin killer and one eccentric artist) were brought to the modern era.Now they must figure out exactly what's going on, and most importantly, to make sure the people from the past can blend in and hide from Abstergo.Now beta'd by The Rebel Hunter here on AO3!





	1. It Begins

**Author's Note:**

> Cross posted with my Wattpad account of the same name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some mysterious people appear in the temple

Evie frowned as she looked around an unfamiliar temple. "Jacob?" she called, turning to see her unconscious brother lying nearby. She frowned even further and tensed when she saw people she didn't recognize around them. ‘What is going on?’ she thought to herself as her brother came to.

"Evie? Evie!" Jacob called when he woke, panicked at not seeing his twin. Spotting her, he jumped to his feet and dashed over. The twins then hugged (mostly because Jacob hugged her first) as everyone else started to wake as well.

Evie looked around the group, eyes wide. She had read about most of them during her history lessons back when she and her brother were still training to be assassins. "Jacob? What's-?"

"I don't know, sis." He looked around the group, and spotted one of them in strange clothing as he stirred. "But we'll figure it out."

"Holy…" Desmond mumbled and held his head as he sat up.

Only to be surrounded by a lot of tense and glaring people, most of whom were wearing robes. "Fuck my life..." he groaned and stood up with a heavy cough.

"Now that you're awake... Who are you? Why do you have such weird clothes?"

Desmond's eyes widened as he stared at the man who just spoke. "I-I'm Desmond Miles." He coughed again "And... Okay, tell me your names?"

"I’m Jacob!" the man who just asked him the questions piped up "That's my twin sister Evie," he added, gesturing to her.

"A pleasure I'm sure." Evie rolled her eyes and smiled.

"I'm Ratonhnhaké:ton, most just call me Connor though," the Native American spoke up.

"I'm well aware," Desmond sighed and turned to the others.

"I'm Shay Cormac." Another man crossed his arms and said nothing else.

"I'm Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad."

"And I'm Malik Al-Sayf," the two Syrians introduced.

"Ezio Auditore da Firenze, this is Leonardo Da Vinci."

"Edward Kenway, lads and lassy."

"A pleasure."

Shaun suddenly came up and the group froze, but Desmond just shook his head. "Let's get out of here, we'll explain later. First, Shaun?”

Already on it, Rebecca and William are getting them more modern clothing, we're meeting them up at the safe house."

\---

In retrospect, none of the people from the past knew why they followed the two strange men, but... They did. Wherever they ended up, they needed the guidance. Maybe that's why they... Well not trusted, but allowed the two strange men to lead them into a strange carriage.

"I don't like this..." Evie frowned

"I don't either but what other choice do we have?" One of the Syrians, Malik, shrugged.

Evie glanced at him, but said nothing. This time and place... It was wrong. Different. She glanced at her brother, who was asleep on her shoulder. It didn't surprise her but it was annoying nonetheless.

Once the carriage started Desmond started to explain "You're in the year 2012, I just stopped the end of the world from happening, but for whatever reason Ezio's apple decided to bring you to our time from your guy's time."

"2012?" Evie demanded, eyes wide.

"Yep." Shaun, the man driving, nodded. "What a time to be alive as well," he snorted.

"Shaun." Desmond looked sharply at the other.

"Whatever, it's hard to explain. Hopefully Rebecca can explain certain aspects of it better, we assure you we're assassins."

"Not that reassuring," Shay grumbled but sighed and shook his head. Both sides in this war... It was pointless really.

"No one asked you Cormac," Desmond snapped and Shay glared into eyes that were eerily similar to Altaïr's. "Anyway, I'm actually a descendant of Ezio, Altaïr and Connor. Connor from my fa-William's side and the other two from my mother's."

Evie frowned at the use of who was obviously his father's name, but didn't comment.

Once at the safe house, a girl with short black hair tackle-hugged Desmond and Shaun. "Guys!" She smiled "Get in!" She led the way, and Malik blinked at the gall of this woman.

Times had certainly changed.

Desmond just laughed and hugged her back. "Wanna explain your Baby to them?"

"Yeah sure, follow me." She led the group into the safe house's basement, where they were keeping the Animus. "This here is Baby, aka an Animus! Reprogrammed by yours truly, it allows you to live through your ancestor's memories via your DNA."

The assassins (and ex-assassin) looked at the machine in awe.

"It certainly is a beauty." William came up and Jacob wore a visible frown as Desmond tensed and looked sharply at the older man

"William..."

"Desmond, how was your little expedition without us?"

"I was with him Mr. Miles," Shaun reminded.

"Even so you had no right to-"

"Save the world," Desmond jabbed back. "Leave it, William."

"I am your father, Desmond."

"Then act like it." The other rubbed his temples.

The group just looked between the two of them, mostly in confusion but Rebecca and Shaun in exasperation. They were used to these two bickering.

"In any case," Rebecca interrupted. "We'll have to get you clothes and IDs. Shaun?"

"I'll work on the IDs," he sighed, though he didn't seem particularly bothered by it. "Desmond, can you get them settled in?"

"Sure, follow me everyone."

\---

Connor sighed as he surveyed the room and then the man he was sharing it with, Jacob, one of the siblings that came. "This is... An odd situation." Connor wished he had Achilles with him, or anyone from his own time.

"I know, I was just helping one of my Rooks with something and then BAM, I wake up with my sister hovering over me in that place."

"It's a sacred temple," Connor said with a sigh "It's... Important"

Jacob nodded and stretched before he began to shed some of his clothes.

"What are you doing?"

"I don't know about you mate, but I'm not sleeping in all my clothes, pants will do just fine."

"R-right," Connor mumbled and began doing the same.

\---

Evie looked wearily at Rebecca, the only other girl and with whom she was sharing a room with. "You dress so... Oddly."

"It's modern day clothes. Hm, you look about my size." Rebecca then tossed her a night gown. "You tell anyone I own a night gown and I'll beat the snot out of you."

"You could try," Evie said as she undid her hair and got changed. It was a bit small but it fit well enough.

\---

"Don't know why I'm not sharing with my apparent grandson." Edward plopped down on his cot, already just in his pants. Desmond had filled him and Connor in on that small little detail quite early on. "Then again, maybe it's because Connor and I don't exactly know each other."

Shay just glared at him.

Edward ignored him.

\---

"At least we're in the same room," Ezio huffed as he lounged on the bed. A cot had been brought in, but Leonardo was already joining him in the bed.

"Si, amore mio," Leonardo agreed.

\---

Malik sighed as he got the cot ready for himself. Altaïr had offered to help, but it was a matter of pride for the Dai to do it himself. He was now regretting that pride.

Altaïr didn't say anything, he just went over and silently helped him. Neither man spoke a word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is the first chapter! I apologize if the twins or Shay seem out of character, unlike the others I haven't seen people play/plated their games that much.


	2. The Shopping Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang goes on their shopping trip and prepares to make their way out of the safe house

The next morning, Evie quickly got dressed in some of Rebecca's clothes. She went to do her hair as well, but Rebecca stopped her.

"A lot of women just wear their hair down or in a simple ponytail these days. Your usual style will just turn too many heads."

Evie frowned but reluctantly nodded and kept it down.

"Now come on, breakfast should be ready. That’s if Desmond woke up first, anyway."

Once in the kitchen they found a sleeping Shaun, and a frowning Desmond making breakfast.

"Dude, did he get any sleep?" Rebecca asked.

"Nope. Morning, by the way. I made pancakes. Rather, I’m making them."

The girls nodded and sat down as the boys slowly piled in.

"That smells amazing," Jacob said as he came in with a disheveled Connor. The two were the last to join the group for breakfast.

Excluding Evie, all the people from the past were in their clothes from yesterday.

"Did my brother snore?" Evie asked Connor, who nodded blearily.

Jacob pouted. "Hey!"

"You do, don't deny it." Evie gave him a pointed look.

Connor looked between them, bewildered as the siblings continued to bicker. He didn't know what to do in this situation.

"Let them fight."

Everyone turned to look at the one who spoke, seeing that Shaun was now awake.

"Shaun!"

"Desmond, save it."

"No! Dammit Shaun, we've talked about this! Stop overworking yourself! Especially now that we literally have time, you know sense we literally stopped the end of the world!”

"Well, I had to get the fake IDs and the like done."

"In one night?" Desmond huffed and got Shaun a plate. "You don't even deserve these pancakes." He swapped out the plate for the British man's laptop. He put said laptop on the counter and grabbed everyone else plates, before he moved the pancakes to the table. "Eat up, especially you Shaun."

\---

After breakfast, Shaun brought them to the long room and handed them their IDs, which for most were driving licences and visas.

After explaining what they are he said; "Okay! Evie and Jacob? You're my older siblings, which makes sense as we're the only three British people." He gave a sideways glance at Edward. "You're five years older than me, old enough that most won't be suspicious that I haven't mentioned you."

"Cool!" Jacob grinned as he looked over his license.

"Altaïr, you're Desmond's brother. You look enough alike." Shaun then turned to Malik. "I didn’t really have to change your name, thank God. You're just a family friend of the Miles’."

Malik nodded.

"Connor, you're Desmond's cousin from his mum's side. Edward, you'll be Connor's (father for this, he's half-native so it won't seem too odd."

The two nodded and Shaun turned to Ezio and Leonardo.

"Ezio, you're Rebecca's older brother, and Leonardo, you're a family friend, I had to give you both different last names since the world would know who Leonardo and Ezio are, for obvious reasons, well Templars and Assassins for Ezio. Any questions?"

Connor spoke up "At risk of sounding like an idiot, how far are we going in this deception? Should we assume we must always be in these personas?"

"Not as stupid as you think. And yes, outside of these walls and major assassin owned compounds, you are to follow this information. I've created fake social media for you all though it peeters off after you supposedly joined the Brotherhood” Shaun explained.

The group nodded.

"Great. Now I'm going to get some sleep. Rebecca, could you take them out to get clothes? There's some here but..."

"On it. Desmond, make sure he gets sleep."

He nodded and led Shaun off.

\---

Rebecca clapped her hands together "Okay! First, go change. There should be clothes in the closets and dressers in your rooms. After that we're going into town!"

The group nodded.

"Si, sorella." Ezio smiled, already falling into his role.

The group then scattered save for Rebecca and Evie.

"So, are Shaun and Desmond...?"

"Together? Yeah, people are far more accepting in this time period," Rebecca answered with a nod, and Evie looked relieved.

"Good, because I'm pretty sure my brother likes Connor."

"Yeah? How can you tell?" Rebecca blinked in surprise.

"He's my brother. I know him better than anyone." Evie smiled gently.

Rebecca nodded. She'd have to keep an eye out then.

\---

"Connor, how does this look?" Jacob asked, and Connor felt his cheeks heat up as he looked over the other.

He was in some dark blue pants and a white button up shirt’s first couple of buttons unbuttoned. His usual necklace was also around his neck.

"You look... Great."

Jacob just grinned and started helping Connor with his clothes. It was fun for the older man, especially since Connor was so easy to embarrass. He eventually got him in a loose-fitting white shirt and the same kind of pants he chose.

"You look nice." Jacob grinned and Connor looked away, flushed. Jacob grinned in victory.

\---

"Finally, you two." Evie looked at them, amused. Everyone else was basically wearing similar outfits to the two males. "Even Ezio and Leonardo got here before you!"

The blond blushed but the other Italian looked unashamed.

"Connor was having some trouble," Jacob explained easily.

"Mhm...well let's get going." Rebecca grabbed the keys to the van and a wad of money before heading out to the car. She got everyone in and quickly started driving.

"Okay, we're getting in and getting out okay?"

"As you say, sorella," Ezio chuckled, and fell into his role once again with ease.

They had covered everything pretty well. The reason he was still Italian and looked a lot different from his ‘sister’ was because they were half-siblings. Her father and mother divorced, and their father started a new family in Italy and had Ezio. The two met up after their father's death since she was one of his last living relatives, and his next of kin. He then went off to University in Italy three years later, while she stayed behind in the states and eventually went to college there.

It was rather lucrative but apparently not a complete lie. Rebecca did have a half-brother and her father did move to Italy after her parents split, but she had never met him. "Yeah, yeah, bro. Anyway, find some stuff you like, okay? I'm paying."

The group separated then.

Evie stayed with Rebecca and Malik, looking through various clothes. It was hard to act like she wasn’t completely overwhelmed, if she were to be honest, but she also knew it was necessary at the moment. The Templars  _could not_  know they were here.

\---

Shay grumbled as he looked around with Altaïr. Apparently, he was masquerading as a descendant of the original Shay Cormac, aka him. It was easy enough to set up, apparently.

"Don't look so down," Altaïr tried to reason. "It could be worse for you."

"Yeah? How?" He glared. "I'm an assassin  _killer_ amongst  _assassins._ "

"True." Altaïr nodded. "But you could also be in that Abstergo's hands."

Shay just muttered and kept silent.

\---

After Rebecca got them back to the safe house, everyone quickly started packing up.

"What's going on?" Jacob asked.

"Gotta leave. Can't really stay in a safe house more than a couple days," Desmond explained as he grabbed some of his stuff from the shelves. "We had a traitor who revealed most of them, so we don't really have hideouts and bases anymore. We're more nomadic."

The group nodded and Jacob frowned. "That's..."

"The traitor is gone," Desmond reassured almost hollowly. "But it's been a bitch hiding them again, or finding new ones."

The group again nodded and went to pack up their own rooms.

After that, they quickly got into the van. "We’re going to South Dakota," Shaun warned Desmond, who nodded numbly.

"Alright, the Farm would be the safest place."

"Damn right it is," William muttered.

Desmond stayed quiet for once, not having the energy to fight with him.

This was going to be a long trip.


	3. Introduction and Spies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang arrives at The Farm

Upon arriving to The Farm, Desmond just silently led the way through the town surrounding it and up to the mountain. Technically, the town itself was not The Farm, but it may as well have been a part of it. It was an assassin-run town with most of the residents being a part of the Brotherhood with very few everyday civilians.

Desmond used to envy these people. They didn't have to listen to his Mother go on about their legacy and William about what an honour it was to be an assassin, or the constant conspiracy theories.

Now though? Although he was still envious, he also felt... Well, not relief that they didn't know, but maybe happy they could stay so blissfully unaware.

"We'll be there soon," William spoke, breaking the heavy silence that had come over the group. "Desmond, your mother is in Egypt again, another of her expeditions."

Desmond just nodded, then smiled as he heard a screech, and he looked up. He held out his arm that had Ezio's blade on it, and a huge Harpy Eagle landed right on it.

Desmond just smiled. "Hello Tasha, sorry for worrying you, girl."

The eagle gave out a squawk and nuzzled the side of his head. The others in the group couldn't help but smile at the exchange.

"Who's this glorious beauty?" Connor asked as he approached. He paused as Tasha narrowed her eyes and ruffled up her feathers.

Desmond cooed at her and stroked her feathers, relaxing her. "This is Tasha, my Harpy Eagle. I saved her egg back before I up and left The Farm." Desmond introduced.

Jacob watched with a fond smile as Connor stroked the giant and admittedly terrifying eagle.

Evie gave him a knowing look as they all continued soon after, Tasha still perched on Desmond. Honestly, Jacob was so transparent sometimes.

"What are you smiling about?" She turned to see Malik next to her.

"My brother and his little crush." She gestured to where he was walking with Connor. "Honestly, he's so transparent."

"Oh?" Malik rose a brow at her.

"Well, transparent to me. We are twins after all," she hummed and shook her head before she turned her full attention to him. "Now you, I am admittedly excited to meet. You're a well-known historian and member of the Brotherhood."

"You have an interest in history?"

"But of course, history and the past… They're fascinating, but dangerous if you think too hard. It's so easy to repeat mistakes but, it also is easier to learn and grow. The Brotherhood has used many of your records and maps for generations, including the one I'm using... Used?" she asked and Malik shrugged the best he could. “-To find the Shroud of Eden, which is said to heal any wound," she finished.

Malik nodded, and the two continued to discuss varies topics.

\---

Many assassins turned when they heard Tasha give out a squawk, and even more stared as the group navigated through the small buildings that litter The Farm's property.

William led them into the biggest house on the lot, and Desmond immediately went up to his old room, Shaun following behind him closely.

"So, this is it?" Connor asked, looking around curiously.

"Yes. Welcome to The Farm, one of the few assassin safe havens left." William waved his hand and grinned. "And, my main base of operations. Most of it is in the caves of the mountain and underground."

The group nodded as he led them through, explaining varies places and objects.

\---

Later, they were set up in rooms with the same roommates they had before. Jacob was ecstatic, and Evie just smiled at him.

"Someone is happy," she observed.

"I can't help it, Evie." He smiled at her as they walked around the property, exploring on their own. "Have you seen and talked to him?"

"Clearly not, you've been occupying Mr. Kenway's time," she teased him.

Jacob just shrugged. "Met anyone interesting Evie?"

"They're all fascinating, these people from our history and the present," she admitted. "Although, Mr. Al-Sayf is the most interesting by far. We had an excellent discussion of history and the Brotherhood"

"Oh really? Is he gonna replace Greenie in your heart?" he teased. Jacob smirked as he observed his sister blush.

"Jacob!"

The two laughed.

\---

Malik frowned as he, Altaïr, and Shay followed the British twins.

"Why are we following them again?" Shay asked and Altaïr shrugged.

"One Miss Evie Frye is the first person I've ever seen Malik take any interest in."

The Syrian blushed and glared at his friend.

"It's true" Altaïr shrugged.

\---

"What was that?" Evie asked and turned where she heard a twig snapping. It was weird, being in a forest and not in a city. There were different sounds and obstacles to take into account.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Jacob promised as he started to go off somewhere else and creep towards where they heard the noise, Evie pulling up her own hood and creeping the opposite way.

\---

Shay cursed under his breath and grabbed the two Syrians "They heard us! Let's move!"

Quickly and easily, he navigated the path they took to get there, keeping an ear out for the twins as he did so. This...Evie and Jacob were probably going to kill them if they ever found out. He paused, using his eagle vision to find one of the secret entrances and quickly led Altaïr and Malik inside.

"Stay hidden. I'm going to go see if they're gone" Shay crept out through the secret entrance.

Altaïr just watched him, bewildered and... Kind of in awe. This man... He didn't have to make sure they got out of that situation, he hated assassins after all, and yet...

"We'll at least he got us out of there right, Altaïr? Altaïr?" Malik frowned as he looked over at his unresponsive friend and colleague. The look on his face as he just stared where Shay exited from...Malik gave a rare smile at the sight of it.

He shook his head though and grabbed the master assassin, leading him through the tunnels and to another entrance/exit.

\---

"Oh hell-ow!" Shay glared as he fell to his knees, clenching his stomach. Damn what did Jacob hit him with.

"What the hell, Cormac?" Jacob glared.

"What do you think these woods are exclusively yours?" Shay taunted. "I was walking around and practicing my free running… Damn that hurt, what the hell?"

Jacob just smirked and revealed his brass knuckles "I don't leave home without them." He winked. "Sorry though, the knuckles are made to cause as much damage as possible . Let's head back to the main cabin... House.... Place." He held out his hand and Shay reluctantly took it and stood up.

This group was full of surprises.


	4. Egypt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Desmond heads to Egypt

The next morning, everyone gathered in the underground living room.

"Desmond, I need you to get your mother back here." William looked to his son.

"And what about the time travellers?" Desmond spoke up and looked at his Father. "We don't know the effects having them here in this could have."

"That's for us to figure out, Desmond. You're needed in the field."

Desmond clenched his jaw but nodded. "Tasha and I will head out after the meeting then," he conceded.

Shaun gave him a worried look, but his boyfriend just shook his head.

Now wasn't the time.

"Alright. Now that that's taken care of,” he said before he turned to all of the people from the past. "Shaun already worked out identities for you, which makes everything easier, but we'll have to catch you up on the world. The fashion trends, culture, history, everything."

The group nodded, and William turned to Shaun and Rebecca. "You two are in charge of that. No one outside this room is to know they are from the past. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir!"

"Meeting adjourned then."

-

Desmond sighed and rolled his shoulders as he packed at least a week's worth of clothes. He also packed his toiletries and some basic weapons. Hearing a knock, he turned to see Shaun. "Gonna see me off?" he asked as the ginger approached him.

"Desmond..." He hugged the other close. "Be careful okay? I..."

"I will. I know. It'll be fine, I’ve just gotta get mom home."

"It's not just that, is it?"

Desmond just gave him a look. "Trust me, there's a reason I didn't fight him on it."

Desmond tried to stay out of his parents' lives as much as possible under normal circumstances.

These weren't normal circumstances.

"If you need me to come alon-"

Desmond cut him off with a kiss. He knew it was a jerk move but...

"It’s fine. You're needed here, Shaun. Okay?"

"Okay, alright… Arse."

"Ass," Desmond chuckled, and his boyfriend helped him finish packing.

-

"You really gotta go?" Rebecca asked as she hugged Desmond.

"Yeah, trust me," he said as he got his bags in the car, along with Tasha in her cage.

"Be careful then, okay? Once your mom is back, we need to go into town and have a proper meal."

"Agreed,” Desmond laughed and hugged her. "I'll be back in a week."

The hopefully was left out. No one wanted to think about it.

-

Desmond sighed as he got on the plane, Tasha's cage in the seat next to him.

Airport security was, justifiably, freaked out about the huge Harpy Eagle, but he got to go through a special line so that was good at least.

He wished now more than ever he had access to the more traditional version of Eagle Vision, the one the other assassins had. As it stood, like his mother he could only see through the eyes of an animal, in his case Tasha.

Once he landed, he noticed his mother and her cat, Mau. "Nilea..."

"Oh please, Desmond. I'm your mother," she chuckled and hugged him. "Before we go back I need your help."

"Dad already filled me in," he reassured. "You need Tasha and I correct?"

 "Bayek was wise, but he did not foresee the way our Vision evolved." She nodded and led him out of the airport as they talked. "Mau and I can only do so much together, we need wings though."

"Tasha is rather large, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"It's not… Ideal, but no one else has the original Vision," Nilea pointed out and Desmond reluctantly nodded.

"Ah, Mrs. Miles! Desmond!" A man approached and shook their hands.

"Dr. Kane," Nilea smiled.

"My son brought Tasha with him, she should be able to get where we need the bird to go."

A weird look passed the older man's face before he nodded. "Very well."

-

Looking through Tasha's eyes was an experience. It was odd, to see from the eyes of something that had much sharper vision than his own. As Tasha flew through the corridor and seemingly endless crawl space up above, Desmond kept track of everything and anything that seemed interesting.

Finally, she entered a crumbling and ancient anti-chamber. In it was an old lever just big enough around to fit in Semu's beak when she was alive. It easily fit in Tasha's beak as she pulled the lever, opening the door in the main room.

Once she was back, Desmond blinked as he started to once again see through his own eyes.

"Thank you, Desmond!" Nilea hugged her son.

"Yeah Ni-mom," he corrected as they entered what was once an Assassin Hideout during Bayek's time.

"I'll have to look around, see what I can learn. Oh, the information we could get!" She squealed and put down Mau, who began sniffing around.

Tasha landed on a nearby perch with narrowed eyes as she looked around.

"A week Mom," Desmond reminded as he went to find a place to put down his stuff.

Nilea just waved him off and went searching for the library.

-

A week later, Desmond sighed as he went through the motions of his training. Tasha was out hunting whatever she could hunt out here. Her kind's usual food was sloths and other tree-dwelling creatures. Maybe she'd find some birds or other such food. Luckily, for as big as she was, her species could easily go a week without eating so after she hunted she would be fine for a while.

Bad news is that she could be hunting for days on end before she finally found and killed her prey.

"Don't worry Desmond. Egypt's ecosystem is extremely varied, she’ll be able to find suitable prey in no time!" Nilea came up.

"As you say Mom." He couldn't help but worry though.

-

A day later, Tasha came back, and Desmond started packing his things.

"Has it really been a week already?" Nilea sighed dramatically and Desmond nodded.

"Time to head back Mom, I have our tickets."

"Fine… Still, I wish we didn't have to go. Think of all the knowledge about the brotherhood we could get! And right from the beginning as well!"

Desmond just shook his head. "We found what we were after. You and Shaun can discuss the rest of this after we get back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone gets the reference with Dr. Kane's name comment below and you'll get 10 Internet cookies.


	5. Meanwhile....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At The Farm....

Shaun rubbed his temples as he gathered all the material he needed. He decided to go through to most important events of history the average person would know. It'd be easier and quicker than just history of the world.

That and he was too worried about Desmond to really focus.

"Shaun, he'll be fine. He's just retrieving his mother."

"With Tasha?" Shaun demanded as he turned to see Edward.

The pirate just lifted his hands. "I'm just sayin', laddy. He seems like a capable man."

Shaun nodded and smiled. "Yeah... Still, I worry about him. He's not invincible."

Edward just nodded.

"Okay! Let's go over this again.”

Just as Shaun was about to answer, a large boom sounded, and the room seemed to shake.

Shaun tensed and quickly turned to everyone. "Get your things, something is wrong!"

The people from the past didn't have to be told twice, and were already racing out of the room.

-

Altaïr cursed as he raced through the halls of the building and to his room. He grabbed his assassin robes and quickly armed himself, Malik right behind him. "Let's get to the tunnels, we can help get people out of here from there. Innocents and children will be prioritized."

Malik nodded and armed ( **well, as much as one can. XD** ) himself as well, following his friend.

-

Once geared up, Jacob and Evie climbed onto the roof. They used their Eagle Vision to try and spot their foes but…

“Where are they? They couldn't have run off already?" Jacob frowned as he continued to look around.

"I don't know..." His sister answered as she jumped down and started looking around. "Let's check the tunnels.”

-

Shay cursed as he ran through the woods. Shit, shit! He had to get out of here! He glanced behind him, seeing the faint red of his enemies as he continued running. He needed to find a tunnel, and fast!

-

"Move, move, move!" William commanded, helping his people and the townspeople through the tunnels. There wasn't much they could do at this point besides run, much to William's annoyance. How could have they been found so easily? Especially without anyone's notice? It baffled him.

-

Once out of town, all those from the past were in the van with the Animus, Rebecca, and Shaun. It was only then that it occurred to Connor.

"Where's Shay?"

The entire group seemed to almost freeze, except Rebecca who continued driving.

"Maybe he's with another group?" she suggested. "I mean it was a rushed and hectic escape..."

"Maybe…” Altaïr frowned, not looking very convinced at all. There was nothing they could do though. They had little resources and no way to contact anyone safely.

"We'll have to head to the nearest safe house and hope to God he's there." Shaun murmured, rubbing his hands together. "How could no one be alerted?"

"You'd think we'd notice them. Jacob and I couldn't pick anything up though," Evie spoke up.

The group tensed and looked at her.

"Really?" Malik asked.

"Our Eagle Vision didn't show any red whatsoever. It was like they weren't even there."

"That's bad. Very, very bad,” Leonardo breathed out and glanced at Ezio, who wrapped an arm around him.

Leonardo didn't have the Eagle Vision himself, but what Ezio had described… “Did you pick anyone up at all?"

"Now that you mention it, no." Jacob frowned. "It looked like everything does while using it, but there were no people at all..."

Leonardo frowned, mind racing with possibilities as he tried to put it together. It was an incredibly difficult puzzle, in a way. Blocking themselves was one thing, but no one at all during a mass escape? That was something else entirely. Why though? Why block everyone? What would be the point?

"Leonardo?”

The blond blinked and looked over at a concerned Ezio. "Just thinking… Why block everyone? Why not just themselves?"

"Hm..." Ezio frowned, then felt his eyes widen. "A demonstration," he said. "They wanted to show us just what they could do. Blocking themselves? Not flashy enough. They wanted to get us to our very cores, they wanted to block our Eagle Vision entirely."

"Except it only worked for people," Malik realized.

"This was a test run,"

Evie agreed. Leonardo nodded, eyes wide.

This...this changed everything.

-

Shay suppressed a groan as he came too. He kept his eyes closed as he listened to the people whispering and murmuring around him.

"... A descendant of the original Shay Cormac! This is incredible!"

"Too bad Project Animus is practically dead in the water. He would have made a fine subject..."

People kept whispering like that around him, before he finally opened his eyes.

He was in a white room, much too bright for it to be comfortable, with glass as one wall and two doors, one to his right and one on the wall his bed was on.

Where was he?

"Ah, morning Mister Cormac!"

He frowned and then noted the speakers and cameras. Ah, so not around him then.

"Sorry for the abrupt meet-"

"You kidnapped me! Why!?" he demanded.

The man just laughed. "Don't worry. We have big plans for you Mister Cormac. Big plans indeed..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is a little bit shorter than the others, but it's for a good reason trust me


	6. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Desmond and Nilea return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! Sorry this one took a bit linger, but I have a beta now! (Name in description) so the formate might be a bit different for chapters now, also I'm officially inn my winter break for school so whoo!
> 
> Also Codic is kinda like...a transition language between Ancient Egyptian and Arabic. That's the best I can explain it anyway. Some people in Egypt still speak it so I thought ito be interesting to anyway anyway bit of it.

 

"Something isn't right here..." Desmond frowned as he and his mother approached the settlement around the Farm. Nearly all the assassins were gone along with some of the innocents. Nilea nodded and the two drove up to the Farm cautiously.

Once they got close, Desmond let Tasha put of her cage and into the open sky. His Vision was... blurred, but that was mostly due to the area having a strange smoke in the air, though it seemed to be dissipating.

"Something’s wrong, none of the usual sentries are at their posts..." he informed.

Nilea frowned. "What else does she see?"

"The entire place is deserted...it's almost as if there was an attack. Someone got separated and was running through the forest, but it appears they were taken... And so close to an entrance to the tunnels as well..."

Nilea frowned and nodded as Tasha came back, and they drove off to the nearest safe house.

"Desmond!" he heard a sentry call and he nodded to her as he and his mother got out of the car.

"Desmond!" Shaun ran over and hugged him.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Desmond asked, and Tasha cocked her head.

Mau meowed so Nilea pet her to try and soothe her. "What's going on William"

"Nil..."

"Don't ‘Nil’ me, Miles! What. Happened." She then glanced around and gasped when she saw Altaïr approach. "Holy... It's an honor." She nodded to him "I thought Desmond was..."

"It wasn't a trick or hallucination, no," Desmond chuckled, and  William and Altaïr helped the newly arrived mother and son with their bags.

"Shaun... Are you ok?" Desmond approached the other man and looked him over for any injuries. "The Farm looked ransacked!"

"We were attacked," he grunted and rubbed his temples. "But I'm fine," he reassured the younger man.

Desmond nodded and pulled him close. "I was so worried..."

"I was too. I'm glad you're safe," Shaun hugged him back.

Evie cleared her throat, and the two men separated. "Shay Cormac is missing. We assume he was captured by the enemy"

Desmond tensed, but nodded. "We'll have to find him. If they find out that he's actually the Shay Cormac..."

The female assassin gave a nod, before she heard a squeal.

"Evie Frye as well? Desmond, you don't tell me enough!"

"My apologies, mom," he chuckled nervously as the Egyptian woman approached the young, British assassin.

"Your research into the Pieces of Eden is astounding! I used it as the base for mine!"

"Why, thank you." Evie blinked and looked around. "Um... My brother is around here somewhere.”

"Really?" Nilea asked, interest peaked once again.

"Mom calm down," Desmond said. Trying to placate the woman, he said; "Why don't you unpack all the things you took from the original headquarters?"

"All of it?" she asked him "Even... That?"

Evie blinked, caught off guard by the sudden change in demeanor of the woman.

"ⲥⲉ" Desmond said in a language Evie didn't quite understand. The suddenly stoic woman nodded and raced off.

Evie glanced at Desmond. How did he..?

\---

Evie later approached Malik and Leonardo in the library. "Do either of you know what does ⲥⲉ mean?" she asked.

Leonardo shook his head, but Malik frowned and nodded. "I'm not overly familiar with the language, but it's Codic for yes, why?"

Evie explained the bizarre encounter she just had.

Malik frowned more. "Hm... I do not know why he would speak this to his mother," he admitted. "Maybe it's how they communicate so people won't understand them?"

"Maybe... I just wish I knew what they were referring to."

\----

Nilea and Mau looked around the musty and creaking celler. Making sure the coast was clear before Nilea pulled out a very round artefact. The Egyptian smiled gently as it glowed a soft gold. She quickly placed it with the others in her vault. Finally, she has one of the Egyptian Apples. Now she just needed to find the others. She knew she was neglecting her family, but in the end it would all be worth it. Besides, Desmond was an adult now and her husband shouldn't need her to babysit him.

\---

Later that evening, Connor was on the roof, looking at the stars. Since they were near a city, there weren't as many out as there could have been, but he tried not to let it bother him. Truthfully though, he missed the wide skies, not blocked by anything but trees and the occasional cloud.

"There you are," called out a male voice, breaking through Connor’s thoughts.

He turned his head to see Jacob climbing on up and sitting next to him.

"Couldn't sleep," Conner told Jacob, turning his gaze back to the stars. The Englishman nodded, and looked up at them as well.

"I'm not used to seeing this many stars," he admitted. "Even during my time, you never saw stars above London, though it was mostly due to fog and the weather."

"Really?" Connor asked and Jacob nodded.

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong I love the city, but I just think this view is amazing."

"I'm used to seeing more stars," Connor admitted. "Then again I grew up in nature as a hunter, a warrior. The stars, forest, and even rivers were familiar to me and... I guess I just miss them."

Jacob wrapped an arm around him and nodded. "I miss the city as well, it may not seem the same-"

"No it makes sense," Connor cut him off, then blushed and looked at Jacob. "Sorry, um… I didn't mean to cut you off."

The British man just laughed and waved his hand. "It's fine."

Connor smiled at him and nodded, continuing to lean against him in silence and together, they watched the stars.  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Confession: I haven't finished Origins yet. So if I mention something that seems out of place, that's why. ^_^;


	7. Shay's not rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me xD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY! Sorry this took so long guys! Life decided to say "fuck you" to me haha

Pain.  
So much pain.  
Shay hated this, hated that he couldn't really do anything but cooperate. For what felt like days, or even weeks at a time he was forced to stay in his Eagle Vision. He felt like his skull was being split open and dug through.  
"Just a little more today, Mr. Cormac" one of his captures "reassured" him.  
Shay gritted his teeth, half-tempted to just turn it off. Everyone around him was red, the environment a pale grayish-blue.  
He hated it.  
"Yeah, yeah. How many times have you said that just today?" Shay grumbled, his snark awarded by an electric shock to his… Entire body it felt like.  
"Tsk, tsk, Mr. Cormac. I warned you, compliance is the only way to go," the same man from before reminded him.  
Shay wasn't listening though, he was wheezing, with his ears ringing from the shock as he tried to compose himself.  
It hurt. ithurtithurtithurtihurt. _It hurt!_  


.Shay didn't know what happened, all he knew was that he blacked out.  
It was dark, for how long? Shay didn't know. All he knew was that when he woke he was in some kind of...medical room?  
He reluctantly switched to his Eagle Vision. He turned it off when he realized no one was around, and felt the back of his neck, the epicenter of where he felt the shock.  
Nothing.  
Perfect.  


Shay got up and looked around, quickly sneaking out of the room and down the hall. He was in some kind of...robe? He'd have to find some clothes, maybe a weapon.  
They weren't going to keep him there any longer.  
He walked down the hall, switching between his normal sight and his Eagle Vision. He found a janitorial closet and was about to investigate when he heard a "Halt!"  
He turned and smirked, rolling his shoulders and whistling gently. As the person came closer he quickly grabbed him, bringing him to the closet before pulling him inside.  
He made quick work of the guy and put on his clothes. Finding a gun, he quickly took it and exited the closet before straightening his clothes. They were… Weird. Shay wasn't used to wearing modern clothes like the guard's uniform, but it would do for now.  
He started walking down the hall, keeping an eye on his surroundings. His robes would be wherever the Assassins ended up, which was all well and good... Maybe he could find some useful things around here?  


Shay continued to explore the base, mind not only on escaping more, but on revenge as well. He was going to ruin them. All of them. No one should be allowed to do to anyone what they did to him! Shay shook his head to clear it and checked the pockets of the uniform he... acquired. There were several card keys as well as traditional keys.  
Good.  
He continued down the hall, opening several rooms of ‘volunteers’ like himself. One of them was apparently part of the "Animus Project" and was more than happy to help Shay.  
"Name's Lin, care to lead me to the labs? I'm going to grab a friend of mine."  
Shay rose a brow but nodded. "Shay, follow me."  
They continued down the halls, meeting up with several others before going down to a room holding a huge machine.  
"Give me some time..." Lin muttered as she started typing on the Animus's computer.  
Shay nodded and stood guard, eyes cold and constantly switching to his Eagle Vision. Shay didn't want to risk people sneaking in uninvited. Suddenly, the lights seemed to shut off briefly before turning back on.  


"We're in," Lin informed. "Sending a signal out to all assassin teams still operating, this building and Animus is ours!" she exclaimed and pressed a button.  
Cal, the man who had been in the animus and inducted into the assassins before they walked in, rose a brow at them.  
"They need to know the location of the Apple, if someone hasn't found it already, and that we're here, we're safe," Nathan explained, rubbing his temples as he looked at Cal. "Come with me, you know where they keep all the memorabilia." Cal nodded and the two ran off. Shay turned to Lin then.  
"Emir, he got us in but... I fear he might be gone. He was in the security room," Lin spoke up after a few minutes and Shay bowed his head briefly.  
"He would have fought valiantly then, another life this war has unfairly claimed..."  
Lin gave him a surprised look.  
"My ancestors shares my name, are you really surprised I share similar sentiments?" Shay rose a brow at her. Of course, his ‘Ancestor’ was really him, but he couldn't inform her of that. "What we need to focus on right now is getting out that signal and stopping whatever plan these people have, they were studying my Eagle Vision, that can only end in disaster. Destroy all research surrounding it if you can, or get it to someone who can encrypt it beyond what any of these morons can even try and decrypt," he commanded, his tone leaving no room to argue.  
Lin grumbled out a "You say it like that's easy" but did what he asked, sending it to the one person she knew could do it, one Rebecca Crane. She hoped the other girl could do it, as Lin herself was not very good with computers, and only managed to get into the system thanks to Nathan. This... was big. Really big.  


-  


Rebecca released a breath and quickly got to work, yelling out to the others "I found Shay, or Shay found us," as she quickly got to work on the research on Eagle Vision. Lin, whoever that was, possibly another subject, emailed her, telling her Shay all but demanded that the Eagle Vision research be encrypted beyond all comprehension. Rebecca understood it, though not having assassin ancestry herself she didn't truly understand what it was. It was tempting, but no. She understood whatever research they found shouldn't be allowed to be seen by anybody.  
"Shay has been located?" Altair demanded as he entered the room, just as Rebecca finished encrypting the research.


	8. Hurt/Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey Yo! Another filler chapter! Don'tworry I will be getting back to the main story (And I do mean the MAIN story) in the next chapter, just had to flush out some of the relationships (not necessarily the romantic ones) before moving foreword in the story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note that I really, really don't like William.
> 
>  
> 
> Also warning: William is going to be a complete bigot and disregard his son's mental health and e a general dick. There's a reason this took me a bit longer to write

Altaïr gritted his teeth as he paced. He couldn't believe those... Those...  
"Novice, stop wearing a hole through the carpet," Malik said from where he was reading.  
"They left us behind!"  
"Your attitude right now just proves why."  
Altaïr just glared as William walked in.  
"Come, we're doing some training"  
Malik narrowed his eyes at the thinly veiled command but got up and followed the two other men out of the room.  
-  
Desmond looked over as his father and the two Syrians walked out of the safe house. Due to a recent psychological break due to the Bleeding Effect, a very tired and not focused Desmond was also left behind.  
"They decided to join us then?"  
"Like we had much choice," Altaïr grumbled under his breath and Desmond winced in sympathy. If it was his choice, he wouldn't exactly be out here either.  
"Enough talking! We'll start with a run around the property and Desmond? At least try and keep up." William gave his son a hard stare. Desmond just waved his hand and rolled his shoulders, getting ready.  
He wasn't looking forward to this.  
As they ran, Desmond was once again pulled into... Well he didn't know how to describe it as anything other than visions.  
Suddenly, he was in the woods of Connor's people's land.  
Malik frowned and motioned for Altaïr to stop as he went over to a very off Desmond.  
"Desmond?"  
Desmond looked… Confused and William went over. "What's the hold up?" he growled.  
Malik glared. "At least show some concern for your son," he hissed, displeased with the other.  
Desmond slowly came back to the present and blinked, rubbing his eyes gently. God his head hurt...  
"If you're done slaking off," William announced. "Let's continue."  
"Yes, sir…" Desmond winced but nodded. The two Syrians looked concerned though.  
"Are you sure you're up for it?" Altaïr asked. Desmond looked reluctant.  
"He's fine," William spoke up before Desmond could and Desmond nodded along mutely.  
Malik was having none of that. "Desmond, go back to the house. You're in no shape to be training right now."  
Malik didn't like how relieved and dumbfounded the younger man looked.  
He didn't like it at all.  
-  
After Desmond went back, Malik turned to William.  
"You are a disgrace," he started and put his hand up when William opened his mouth. "No, you _will_ shut up and listen. Even if he wasn't your son, he is still a member of the Brotherhood, one that clearly isn't in the right mental place right now to train. However, you force him to anyway, which caused his mind to falter even more. Even this novice next to me understands this."  
Altaïr nodded and added; "You remind me of the mentor before me. Except you are doing this to your own flesh and blood and he has not done anything to warrant this behavior from you as I did."  
"He ran." William glared. "He's lucky I let him back in or even sent people to rescue after he got his ass abducted."  
"Everyone runs for a reason, Miles." Altaïr glared. "And regardless if he ran before or not, he's a member of the Brotherhood now, and he’s your son."  
William snorted. "I haven't had a son since he ran away from the farm."  
He didn't see the hard punch to the face coming from Malik. He did hear the sickening 'crack' of his nose and feel the sharp pain of it breaking though.  
"You don't deserve a son," Malik said simply and stalked off with Altaïr. He needed to see Desmond and talk to him about... Everything it seemed.  
-  
Desmond was curled underneath the blankets on his bed in his room when the two found him.  
Malik went and sat on the edge of the bed rather awkwardly. He had some idea of what to do but...  
"Desmond?"  
As the Syrian spoke the other turned and blearily looked at him.  
There was several minutes of silence, then-  
"It's called the Bleeding Effect. Usually we can handle the... Side effects of going into the animus, but this... It only happens to those who spend an extended amount of time in it. I become Altaïr, Ezio, or Connor. I believe I'm them, and the environment and people around me look like the environment and people around them in their time. Sometimes it's just hallucinations, which I and the others can handle because I'm still me you know? I just... It's hard..."  
Malik glanced at Altaïr and nodded to Desmond. "It sounds horrible," he sympathised.  
"It is... William is convinced it doesn't exist, Nilea chooses to ignore it, or if she acknowledges it, it's because she can ask me questions when I think I'm them. I just, I wish I were normal! I wish I were back at Bad Weather with Luna and Marzia. I wish I was still sane and okay and I mean, who's ever really safe? But I felt like it!"  
Desmond knew he probably sounded like a whining child, but he couldn't help it.  
"Would you have met Shaun and Rebecca then, though?" Malik reminded softly, and Desmond paused.  
"Maybe not. Depends... On certain things I don't want to talk about if William might be in hearing range… Let's just say there's a reason no one ever leaves the New England branch of the Order. Too many secrets that could be dangerous for all involved if they got out, too many lives at risk."  
He paused again, and what he said next didn't really shock the two Syrians but did surprise them.  
"Too much risk of a civil war within the Brotherhood. If word got out that I never left, that I simply ran to a different branch or whatever, people would be either be defending William, or trying to kill him. I can't have that; the Brotherhood can't have that. We're already at a disadvantage in this war.  
“The Brotherhood wouldn't survive that..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's the chapter! Did you like it? Hate it? What do you think will happen? Feel free to tell me in the comments!


	9. Bad Weather

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang heads out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of a longer chapter to make up for the fact I haven't posted in forever (I apologize)

Nilea frowned as she looked at the coordinates in front of her.

“Is this true?” she demanded, and quickly wrote down the numbers.

“Yes ma’am,” Lin nodded and watched her closely. She didn’t know what to make of the Egyptian woman after all. She was known to be eccentric, and a descendant of the original mentor, Bayek, through her great-grandmother who had apparently married into the family.

That was the rumor anyway.

Nilea shook her head and quickly typed in something, deleting the data.

“I have what I need. Write down any and all information, or make copies on a flash drive before deleting and encrypting the hell out of the originals. All of the timelines and ancestries must be kept hidden…” The group nodded and Ezio briefly looked around as Rebecca got to work.

Leonardo soon called him and looked around, stunned at the lab as Moussa  looked over.

“Ah, welcome to my playground, friends,” he went over and shook Leonardo’s hand, then Ezio’s. “It’s an honor to meet you both. No, don’t lie to me. I know you. I knew from the second I heard Shay Cormac just so happened to share his name with his ancestor.” He shook his head. “Many others won’t put it together, as certainly a branch of the Cormac line still has that last name, but one should talk to the one who changed his identity.” **_(A/n: Sorry I know he talks weird basically he’s saying the chance of a descendant of Shay Cormac having the exact same name are incredibly low)_ **

Leonardo nodded and kept looking around, eventually picking up the replica of the Apple. This place, it was so fascinating, a mix of old and new, familiar and unfamiliar. Ezio watched Leonardo as he mused this. Leonardo…his mind, his dedication and focus on the sciences and art and yet his mind also so easily wandered. The duality in of itself was most probably what made Ezio completely fall for the man in the first place.

Normally, he wouldn't be caught dead showing such open affection, but he went over and pulled the Renaissance man close.

“You seem to be in your element, caro mio,” the younger man chuckled.

“It’s so amazing, absolutely fascinating.” Leonardo leaned back against him, relaxing in his embrace as he examined the family tree on display. Apparently, it was Desmond’s, and by extension Ezio’s, family tree. Ezio kissed his temple but pulled away from him as Shaun came in.

“No need to stop on my account,” Shaun snorted and looked around the room, pausing at the family tree.

“For people who hate us so bad, they seem to be our biggest fans,” he joked, and Ezio snorted and shook his head. Shaun quickly took out a camera and took pictures of the family tree before moving on and collecting various items.

“Take what you need,” Moussa spoke up with a chuckle. “Not much around here besides replicas.”

“That you've made functional,” Shaun pointed out as he picked up and observed one of the smoke balls. The other man just shrugged.

Once they left and returned back to the safe house, Nilea made a beeline for her son’s room. This was too important to delay, the Templars…she paused when she noticed her son curled up under the blankets with a frown.

“Let him rest, he's had a long day.”

She turned to see Malik suddenly in the doorway.

“We've located another Piece of Eden, another Apple. We can't dela-”

“Then go with another person,” Malik cut off. “Surely Desmond isn't the only assassin you can take with you.”

Nilea set her jaw but brushed past him as she went down the hall.

Malik just watched her go with narrowed eyes. Maybe it was what Desmond had told him, it could even be his very few interactions with her, but he didn't trust the woman.

Later, when Desmond was awake, they all met in the dining room.

“We can't stay here, at least not much longer.” Shay set his jaw. The others nodded.

“Where though?” William grumbled.

This time, Desmond looked hesitant.

“I… well , I know a place we'll be safe, okay? Just…” Desmond looked to the side and Shaun frowned in concern. He knew that look, and he hated it.

It meant Desmond felt guilty about something.

“I just… It's in the New England states, the branch of the Brotherhood there has their main base of operations pretty much off the map, in the sense it's never been linked to the Brotherhood anyway. We can stay there for as long as we need,” Desmond explained after a few minutes, looking at the group.

Malik nodded as he gave him a concerned look. He knew how much Desmond looked to keep it all a secret from his father.

“Excellent idea, Desmond,” William praised, and Desmond gave him a sharp look.

Malik didn't blame him. No doubt William was going to use this to learn about all the secrets of the New England branch.

The group all nodded in agreement and it was set they would leave the next morning.

“Si, Luna… No don't use that… It was necessary okay?”

Shaun paused at the door to his and Desmond’s room when he heard his boyfriend on the phone. Luna? Shaun tried to bring up any memory of a person with that name but couldn't.

“Look I… I know I should have told him earlier about… All of this,” Desmond sighed, sounding defeated “It's… Hard to bring this kind of thing up, Luna, especially when you really care about someone. Shaun is… Si, si, sorella. I understand we'll most likely be there around one and you can properly meet him. Prepare everyone and send out the novices for the day ok? I don't want William getting any more information than he'll already be getting. Possibly convince your sister to close for the day as well.” Desmond's voice held a sort of authority Shaun had never heard from the other man before.

“Luna I'll talk later, ‘Tasha should arrive early tomorrow morning with another message and make sure your sister actually reads this one with you this time, I know you haven't been sharing them!”

The next day, everyone got packed up and quickly left. Shaun's mind was still replaying the conversation he heard Desmond have the night before. He didn't want to bring it up with Desmond, since that would be admitting to eavesdropping, but it bothered him. Desmond was out of it too, his mind still trying to decide who Desmond was at any one point.

“Hopefully we'll be there soon,” Desmond sighed tiredly and looked out the plane window. They were on a private jet of a member of the New England branch of assassins.

“You sound simply ecstatic,” Shaun deadpanned and smiled when he managed to get a chuckle out of Desmond.

Small victories and all that.

“This branch has been very tight lipped. It's not surprising that none of their bases of operation or even really anything about them was leaked to the Templars,” William spoke up. “Hell if I know a lot about them myself, if I'm to be honest.”

“For good reason,” Desmond grumbled out. “Everyone has their secrets, and the New England assassins’ secrets have secrets.”

“Hey Luna,” Desmond ruffled the hair of a short blonde woman. Her entire look and demeanour reminded Ezio of Leonardo. She was wearing a black and white plaid dress with a black sweater over it.

“Someone had to pick you up! Luckily for you it was me and not sorella mio Marzia,” the blonde huffed and looked up at Desmond with an annoyed look.

“Aw, come on shortie, at least pretend to be happy to see me,” Desmond laughed as he dodged what would have been a well-placed knee to the groin.

“Idiota.” Luna was smiling affectionately though and waved for the group to follow her.

“So, Miss Aita, where are we heading?” William asked as the limo stopped and the group got out.

“Right in front of you,” she nodded to the Brooklyn bar, Bad Weather . Desmond smiled, relaxing as he saw it. It felt nice to be home.

“Marzia is inside Desmond. Closed, just as you instructed,” Luna informed, and Desmond raced ahead as she added; “Don't worry about the bags. Some novices will take care of it.” She then led the rest of them inside.

“Desmond, I swear this had got to be your second worst idea behind allowing Stillman to abduct you!” a voice rang out in the crowded bar. Despite supposedly being closed, many people in hooded clothing, sweaters, jackets, and shirts, etc, were mulling about, talking and relaxing.

“Where else could we go?” Desmond challenged as the group approached, arms crossed, “Besides would you rather us continue to move around? Hoping we won't be attacked or one of us won't be abducted? Plus, that's unfair. We had no clue Stillman was a traitor, and it helped get some insight into the enemy.”

“You could have died, or worse! Don't think I don't know what affects the damn thing could…” The woman who had her blonde hair in a bun and was nearly as tall as Desmond trailed off and turned to them, her brown eyes reflecting her anger.

“Marzia… Give Dessy a break. He's back, right?” Luna approached her sister, who sighed and forced herself to relax. Everything would be fine. Desmond was back that was all that mattered.

They would all be fine.


End file.
